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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · land · coach · kid · chest · stem · patient · stand

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. land — to come down
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a tool
  23. land — ground
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com